US Court Dismisses $32 Billion Damage Lawsuit Over Cristiano Ronaldo Sexual Assault Allegation

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] A lawsuit for damages filed by a former American model who claimed she was sexually assaulted by football player Cristiano Ronaldo has been dismissed by the court.

According to CNN and other media on the 12th, a Las Vegas court in the United States made this decision on the 11th (local time), citing illegal actions by the plaintiff's attorney.

Judge Jennifer Dorsey dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the plaintiff's attorney, who claimed sexual assault, committed illegal acts during the litigation process, making it impossible for Ronaldo to receive a fair trial.

The lawsuit began with a 2017 report by the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. Catherine Mayorga, a former model from Nevada, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Ronaldo in 2009 at a nightclub in Las Vegas. At the time, Der Spiegel obtained secret conversation documents exchanged between Ronaldo's lawyers and exposed the allegations. Later, these documents were confirmed to be stolen goods taken from a law firm by hackers and sold.

Ronaldo denied the sexual assault allegations, claiming the relationship was consensual. He also disclosed that he paid Mayorga $375,000 (approximately 480 million KRW) in 2009 and signed a confidentiality agreement.

After the Der Spiegel report, Mayorga claimed the agreement was coerced and requested its invalidation, filing a $25 million (approximately 32 billion KRW) damages lawsuit.

Subsequently, Mayorga's attorney tried to prove the sexual assault allegations by obtaining the documents reported by Der Spiegel during the trial. However, Judge Dorsey ruled that the plaintiff's continued use of the stolen documents constituted illegal conduct that undermined the litigation process.

Prior to the dismissal of this civil lawsuit by the court, in 2019, the U.S. prosecution closed the case on Ronaldo's sexual assault allegations, stating that there was insufficient evidence to prove criminal charges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.